Fracking protesters march in British rural idyll
Source: Reuters
Fracking protesters march in British rural idyll
By Sarah Young
BALCOMBE | Sun Aug 18, 2013 11:22am EDT
(Reuters) - British opposition to shale gas extraction flared up in the tiny village of Balcombe on Sunday as hundreds marched on an oil exploration site in protest at the drilling process known as 'fracking'.
Banner-waving men, women and children traveled in by buses and bikes to join locals in a mile-long trek, surrounded by police, towards a drilling operation run by Cuadrilla Resources in the picturesque English county of West Sussex.
Britain's government needs to win over a skeptical public if it is to stimulate a U.S.-style production boom and offset dwindling North Sea oil and gas reserves. The massive expansion of U.S. shale gas extraction has driven down energy prices and cut dependence on imports there.
"I'd like the politicians to know that they have to be more careful and consult with communities more before they allow fracking," said 35-year-old Gabriel Schucan before the march.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/18/us-britain-fracking-protest-idUSBRE97H07P20130818